


No Mystery to Fear

by Vampiric_Charms



Category: Old Kingdom - Garth Nix
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-29
Updated: 2014-04-29
Packaged: 2018-01-21 07:49:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1543181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vampiric_Charms/pseuds/Vampiric_Charms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are still things left unsaid.  "Such is the journey, no mystery to fear..."</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Mystery to Fear

**Author's Note:**

> This short story and the one titled "Such is the Journey" were originally written to be part of the same story, but I was unable to get them to work together. Eventually I split them apart, though they still go somewhat as a pair with this one being "second" - though you certainly do not have to read the first one to read this one!

The bright afternoon sun shone through the large windows of the Royal Palace, drenching Sabriel’s bedroom in a gentle light. The new Abhorsen stood at the window beside her desk, arms crossed over her chest, gazing out at the people rushing around below in the tepid spring weather.  
  
Sabriel and Touchstone had returned to the Old Kingdom several months ago, and, after finding a spare set of bells at Abhorsen’s House, Sabriel had spent the next few days ridding Belisaere of the Dead. It had been surprisingly easy, given all she had endured in the weeks before – or perhaps _because_ of what she had been through. She felt stronger now, more like the savior people had expected her to be.  
  
And now…the palace had been restored, and the people of Belisaere had once again moved beyond their aqueducts to reclaim the rest of their land. The capital city had, in all outward appearances, been returned to its former glory.  
  
Two days ago, in the city’s final step toward its old normalcy, Touchstone had been crowned king. He had won the peoples’ hearts as he helped them rebuild both the city and their lives, and every one of them was happy to see him take the throne and restore the balance that had been missing for so long. There was a joy among them all now, one that would likely last for a very long time.  
  
So joyous were they, in fact, that there was to be yet another feast held that evening in Touchstone’s honor, much to his chagrin. It was quite humorous, really. Two parties in as many days.  
  
She turned her face up toward the sun, closing her eyes and feeling the warmth on her cheeks. There had been much sunshine since Kerrigor was defeated, but she never took it for granted, preferring to enjoy every moment that she could. The hum of noise in the corridor grew loud for a moment as her bedroom door opened and someone slipped inside. She did not bother opening her eyes just yet.  
  
“Tired?” a soft voice asked.  
  
Sabriel smiled, her heart lifting, and turned around to face Touchstone, who stood a few paces away. “A bit,” she responded, suddenly feeling happier than she had in days. He’d been so busy lately that she had rarely seen him long enough to share more than a few words. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be getting ready?”  
  
Touchstone shrugged and sat on the edge of her large bed, shaking his head as he arranged the few pieces of royal garb he was already wearing so they wouldn’t wrinkle. “Everyone is still so intent on making everything perfect. I doubt they’ve even noticed that I’m gone.”  
  
The deep reds and golds of Touchstone’s tunic seemed to blaze in the sun, standing out starkly against the navy of her duvet. He looked uncomfortable, sitting there. As though something wasn’t right, or was missing, and he wasn’t able to make it right. Her smile fading to give way to concern, Sabriel sat beside him and took his hand.  
  
“Are you all right?” she asked softly, gazing into his handsome face.  
  
Touchstone met her eyes, silent as he thought, and Sabriel briefly worried that he wasn’t going to say anything at all. “I wanted to see you,” he finally answered, the hand not already in her grasp almost reaching out to touch her before he stopped himself. Her heart fluttered in her chest and she suddenly remembered their brief interlude outside the throne room, and the question he had started to ask but never finished.  
  
But, knowing he was not being fully open with her yet and not wishing to pressure him, Sabriel merely grinned again. “Well, here you are. Why did you want to see me so badly that you snuck away from the people trying to dress you?”  
  
He chuckled and looked away to fiddle with the white tunic sleeve poking out at his wrist. “All of these clothes…I feel so odd wearing them. I was never meant to be king.” His hand left hers as he stood suddenly, and she could practically feel the restlessness seeping from his body. Where the day of the coronation he was anxious, now he was…lost? She watched him, not sure just how far to push.  
  
“You are now.”  
  
It was a discomforting truth, but a truth nonetheless, and Touchstone turned away from her and paced to the other side of the room as though refusing to hear her words. Seeing how bothered he was – and growing frustrated at his dismissal – Sabriel got to her feet and followed him, coming up and slipping her arms around his waist from behind.  
  
“You’re going to be fine,” she whispered supportively into his ear. “After saving the world, I think you can handle just about anything.”  
  
His body relaxed a bit at her touch and he rested a hand over where hers were clasped. “Thank you, Sabriel.” After a moment of comfortable silence, he twisted in her arms and caressed her cheek, a touch she relished. “I would not even be here right now if it were not for you.”  
  
Sabriel just laughed and shook her head as she smiled. “Oh, I’m sure someone would have come along and released you from that figurehead eventually. That it was me was pure chance.” He still seemed crestfallen despite her encouragement, though, and an idea occurred to her as she studied his features. She grabbed his fingers from her face and spun around, pulling him over to the window she had been standing at before. “Look down there, Touchstone.”  
  
He did as she asked. Below them was a sprawling courtyard alive with people putting up banners and flowers and ribbons, people cleaning and chatting happily with each other. People having a wonderful time as they enjoyed a day of real peace. “Those people down there – _your_ people, Touchstone – love you. They are so happy to have someone like you guide them now. As I told you the other day, they need you. Even if, as you put it, you were not meant to be king.” She paused to let her words sink in as he watched the people in the courtyard. “You are going to be a good king. Royalty is in your blood.”  
  
Very quietly, he said, “You would make a better ruler than I.”  
  
“Me?” She glanced at him, eyes amused as she playfully hit his arm. “I’m the Abhorsen, not a queen! Not much of a ruler, really. You, on the other hand…” She slid an arm up and around his back, leaning against him as he looked down at her. “You have no other obligations. I do not require a swordsman anymore.”  
  
The words were meant to be joking, but his face fell. Concerned now and no longer willing to wait for him to spit it out already, Sabriel pulled away and glared up at him. “What’s the matter?” Touchstone shook his head in an attempt to dismiss the question and wouldn’t meet her eyes. That just confused her and another touch of irritation flared as she pursed her lips. “Hey, look at me!”  
  
Still he wouldn’t, and so she reached out and took his face into her hands, demanding his full attention when he was so loath to give it. The collar of his scarlet tunic slipped a little at her force. “What’s wrong, Touchstone?”  
  
“I…” He hesitated for a moment and covered one of her hands with his. Two of her fingers bore the silver rings from the night she defeated Kerrigor, and she stared at him fixedly as he felt them, trying to figure out what he was thinking. “I was worried that you might leave now.”  
  
Hearing that, Sabriel almost laughed at the absurdity of his fear. “Leave? I’m not going anywhere!” Her hands dropped, but she stepped closer to him, touching his chest as she tilted forward a bit. “There is still much for me to do here, you know. And besides, I have no intention of leaving _you_.”  
  
“Do you mean that?” questioned Touchstone, watching her with an odd intensity that made her breath catch.  
  
“Well, of course I do.” Sabriel stepped back again, the confusion rising for a second time. But then, suddenly suspicious, she narrowed her eyebrows and asked, “Why?”  
  
In a rush of passion, Touchstone pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, tucking her head under his chin. She didn’t fight him, too surprised at his bold behavior to do anything but go along with it. His heart was pounding in his chest. “I love you,” he mumbled into her hair. “Ever since you woke me in Holehallow, you have been the only constant in a world that had been turned upside down.”  
  
And suddenly she realized that he wasn’t afraid – he was _nervous_. But about what, she still wasn’t sure. So she just stood there.  
  
“And I…I still have a question for you, Sabriel.” He released her and cupped her face in his hands. She watched him expectantly as a flurry of emotions flew behind his eyes. And yet the question did not come.  
  
“Yes?” she prompted softly, now nervous herself. Seconds passed as they stood there in the quiet room before he finally spoke again.  
  
“You truly would be a wonderful queen. Would you…would you consider ruling with me?”  
  
Sabriel was silent for a moment, shocked, before she stammered, “Are – are you asking me to _marry you_?”  
  
“Er, yes…I suppose I am.” Touchstone faltered, and she could see that he had taken her surprise the wrong way when his hands dropped back to his sides. “There, um, used to be a royal wedding band. My mother wore it, but I’m afraid it’s been lost since she -”  
  
“Shh.” Before he could continue on his anxious ramble, Sabriel put a long finger to his lips and effectively quieted him before he could say another word. “Don’t be so nervous, Touchstone. Yes, I will.” She laughed loudly, almost giddy at the proposal, as she asked, “Did you think I would say no?”  
  
Touchstone flushed, eyes lowering in slight embarrassment. “I’ve never done this before, you know, asked a woman to marry me. I don’t know the proper way now.”  
  
“The ‘proper way’? To propose?” She snickered again, glowing as the sun hit upon her pale skin. “You’re making a young girl’s dream come true, you know. Marrying a king.” Memories of growing up at Wyverley College, of late night talks and giggles with her friends as they fantasized about the princes waiting for them out in the world, of the grand weddings they would have, popped into her mind.  
  
“Having you by my side, Sabriel…” He returned her smile, his fingers brushing a strand of hair from her eyes and then lingering near her ear. “I was afraid to be a king, but now, knowing you will be there with me…I’m not scared.”  
  
All Sabriel could do was grin at him, standing there in half of the clothing he should be wearing by this point, the unbound tunic giving him a frantic look that was an embodiment of how uneasy he had been. “An Abhorsen queen,” she mused to herself, trying the words on her tongue. They felt strange, but she had a feeling she would get used to it.  
  
“I am sorry I do not have a ring for you,” Touchstone said again, truly meaning the words, but she simply saw it as humorous, him talking to hide his nerves. What a silly thing to be upset over!  
  
“I don’t need a stupid ring,” said Sabriel firmly, stopping the line of conversation before he could start rambling again. Instead she wrapped a hand around the back of his neck and pulled his face down to hers, kissing him soundly on the lips. They lingered for a long moment before she pulled away. “You need to go get ready,” she whispered, eyes still closed.  
  
“Not yet.”  
  
And he kissed her again, ardent in his pleasure at her acceptance. She leaned into him, fingers curling in his hair as a delighted sound escaped her at his loving touch. It was then she knew, despite the loss and pain she had been through before, that this, finally, was the path she was supposed to be on. Whatever doubts she had had, whatever fears – they were gone.  
  
Touchstone’s words, said for himself, were true for her as well: There was nothing to fear, so long as he was there to share the load.


End file.
